2005 United States Grand Prix

Schumacher wins farcical six-car Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher and Ferrari scored a hollow victory in a farcical U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis after tire problems experienced in qualifying caused all 14 Michelin-shod cars to withdraw at the end of the formation lap.

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The situation came as a huge disappointment to all concerned, and caused considerable anger amongst fans, some of whom protested at the end. IMS president Joie Chitwood made the race promoter's position clear.

"We're as surprised as anyone that this misfortune occurred today, and with the results we witnessed out on the track," said Chitwood. "We are as disappointed as we've ever been in hosting an event here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"We're going to analyze our situation, our position here. We're probably going to respond appropriately in the next coming days. There are a number of questions that we will have to sit down and look at and come up with a better response."

There are suggestions that IMS will demand some kind of compensation from Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management (FOM).

The problems began when Ralf Schumacher had a heavy crash in Friday practice following a tire failure entering the banked Turn 13, where he also crashed in last year's race. Toyota teammate Ricardo Zonta had a less dramatic failure on the same day, while several other Michelin tires — all examples of the heavily loaded left rear-also showed signs of damage.

The Michelin runners ran restricted laps in Saturday practice, with higher rear pressures. There were no obvious failures, but again some tires showed signs of developing problems. However, all drivers completed their qualifying laps, and the grid was set with Toyota's Jarno Trulli pipping title chaser Kimi Raikkonen to pole position.

However through the late afternoon and early evening, it became apparent that Michelin could not guarantee that its tires would be safe for a full race distance of 73 laps. The seven Michelin teams concluded that the only way that they could tackle Turn 13 was at reduced speed, so they asked for a chicane to be built for the race, with the full support of Bernie Ecclestone.

The debate was put on hold overnight, and in the morning Michelin confirmed that its research had brought forth no positive information. Team bosses spent the morning in a meeting with Ecclestone and Tony George, but the bottom line was that FIA President Max Mosley — contacted at his base in Monaco — would not allow the chicane proposal to go ahead in such a last-minute fashion. The seven teams agreed to go to the grid, and pull into the pits at the end of the warm-up lap.

Minardi's 5th and 6th place finishes gave the team 7 points — and, most likely, millions of dollars in travel money next year.

Having qualified 5th, Schumacher led away a field that consisted only of his teammate Rubens Barrichello, the two Jordans, and the two Minardis. After trading places at the first stop, Schumacher regained the lead leaving the pits at the second stop by forcing his teammate onto the grass! Tiago Monteiro took a distant 3rd for Jordan, ahead of teammate Narain Karthikeyan. All six runners finished the race.

The political fallout will be immense, and the division between the teams and Mosley has widened. Ecclestone was also massively embarrassed by a situation that many felt the FIA could have managed better.